Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Purpose of the News

As difficult as it is for me to accept the truth of the quote by Shirky about the death of newspapers, I realize the necessity of it. No matter the form of journalism, the purpose is the same. The purpose is what is important, so we should be striving to improve how we accomplish our purpose. I think news is suffering now, not just newspapers. People need to be re-educated on the purpose of journalism. Perhaps we can make lemonade with the sour economy, a push to get creative and rethink how we present news. I think people forgot we are on their side, maybe we did too! I think if we re-evaluate our role, then readers/listeners will re-evaluate the role of news in their lives.

2 comments:

  1. Naive question here, what is the purpose / role of news and journalism? Certainly not (or at least not just) entertainment nor the stirring of emotions that is popular in a lot of TV news. But the purpose also seems different from education. TV journalism is not the same as discovery channel or PBS. So, what is the purpose?

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  2. The main purpose of the news is to ensure an informed electorate. In a government like a democracy or a republic, where the public has the right to vote, it's essential for the electorate to be informed.

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